Betsey Johnson Fall 2011 Beauty Report

Betsey Johnson Wigs Out For the Runway

For her Fall 2011 collection, Betsey Johnson revealed a brooding, somber side. Just kidding — she was the same fun-loving, kooky woman she always is. Get the backstage report when you read more.

Hair: Lead stylist Peter Gray for Redken worked with Sassoon-inspired black wigs, cut to just about chin-length in an asymmetrical bob adorned with very Cleopatra-esque bangs. He also shook up the look by shooting gold hair color spray on a “stencil” of lace onto the wigs. Said Gray, “In addition to the Sassoon influence, thanks to his movie coming out, Betsey also steered me in the direction of Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction,” he said. A simple bob is not “Betsey” enough for Gray, as he wanted to create something really special: lace. “We initially wanted to paint the lace onto the hair, then we evolved the idea to spray paint, then we settled on the hair color spray and used the lace as a stencil.” Under the wigs, Gray prepped by wrapping the models’ hair up using Redken Align Ultra Straight Balm 12 blown through to flatten it. Lastly, after the wigs were painted with the lace stencil, he applied Redken’s new Shine Flash 02 to the wigs for extra gleam.

Nails: Nonie Creme created a custom mix of olive-gold Butter London polish for the show. “I was inspired by a patinaed, kind of tarnished brocade,” she said. She also drew ideas from the fabric textures and, oddly enough, the royals. “The shade is called Wallis, for Wallis Simpson,” Creme quipped. “ I’m having a royal moment — it’s all about the royals next Autumn!”

Makeup: “Betsey has a very specific idea of her girl," said lead makeup artist Charlotte Willer. “She wants her sexy, strong; an extension of herself.” Willer deviated from a typical black shadow in favor of a midnight blue with gold combination. The shades were selected from a Maybelline Eye Studio Quad in Midnight Excitement. Navy gel liner defined both the top and bottom lashlines. Maybelline Volum’ Express The Falsies Mascara was brushed onto the lashes, while Maybelline lipstick in Catwalk Red completed the look. Skin was evened out with Maybelline Fit Me Foundation. Brows were darkened with Maybelline Define-a-brow in Black.